Oscar Preview Week – Best Picture and Best Director

Now the two final “big categories.” I’ll have to skim over some of the other categories, like animated short (expect a heart-warming Pixar cartoon to win over one about the consequences of naked war) and visual effects (Mad Max is primed to sweep most of the technical awards).

Best Picture – The Revenant

Let me be clear. I, personally, do not feel that The Revenant is the best picture of 2015. Three of the nominees are definitely better films (Spotlight, Room, The Martian) and three others might be better films (Mad Max: Fury Road, Brooklyn, The Big Short). I am conceding here that it’s a more compelling movie than Bridge of Spies, but that’s about it.

As my generally positive review makes clear, I think the Revenant is a good film with fine acting and beautiful cinematography. However, in many ways, it’s a pretty conventional western, like a more gruesome version of Davey Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (1955).

In contrast, Spotlight uses every tool in the film toolbox to tell a powerful and important contemporary story, Room challenges conventions of genre and perspective. The Martian is equally intense and well-acted, but is actually about something other than “man versus nature.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if Spotlight ends up taking the big award, or even Mad Max: Fury Road. But as of right now, the smart money is on The Revenant.

Best Director – Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant

Best Director should be a three-way race between Iñárritu, George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road), and Adam McKay (The Big Short). If this were an award for technical direction, Miller would win. If it were an award for telling a complex story in an accessible, even humorous manner, McKay would win.

However, given that the Academy usually lumps Best Director and Best Picture together, there’s a very high bar to exceed here. I don’t think there’s enough ammunition for McKay or Miller to pull off an upset. Iñárritu it is.